Friday, 25 July 2008

• God Speaks Through...Snails

  by miss goldenrod

  The Holy Spirit often uses my aquarium to teach me lessons on life, and the longest-enduring trial has come with many, many snails.  The little gypsies came in unwanted and undetected with some live plants and have since multiplied exponentially.  In short, these snails that I originally thought cute and harmless have become metaphorical for fleshly sins or problems that life brings along.  Like my snails, if the issue isn't addressed early, it soon becomes unmanageable.
  
  Even after breaking down the tank, the snails somehow survived and have taken very seriously God's command to "go forth and multiply."  Since then, I've been manually catching and flushing them; however, on Thursday night one stubborn guy clung to the toilet-sides, refusing to be flushed.  It had finally died by the morning, but I realized I was unable to fix this myself.

  So I brought in a third party: Clown loaches, two of whom are pictured above with my Corydoras.  Loaches are supposed to love escargot, yet most of the snails are bigger than these babies' mouths. I don't think they've ever even seen a snail.  I'm praying instinct will kick in soon.

  How long does it take me to realize that a problem has grown too big for me to handle on my own?  When do I ask for help, and then who do I ask?  Christians have two smart options: the Trinity or a fellow believer.  I feel it's easier to ask God, especially as it keeps things "just between us."  Going to another person exposes your problem to a flesh-and-blood human. 

  Perhaps, like me, you don't want to inconvenience another person.  Maybe you don't think you're valuable enough to ask another human for help.  Asking God is one thing; he placed his Spirit in you and it's easy to convince yourself that the Spirit doesn't want to live in a beat-up home any more than you want to be that beat-up home.  But to bring someone else into it...?  Careful...as I've learned, that attitude is called "pride." 

  Once my clowns begin eating the high-protein snails, they'll begin growing faster, stronger, and healthier.  Likewise, the opportunity to help someone else is a huge benefit to us.  I love that God has given me the chance to sponsor a little girl in Colombia.  I'm thrilled to send money and prayers to her...so, again, why is it so hard to ask someone to help me? 

  Do you have trouble confiding in other people about your problems? Who do you usually turn to for help?

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